


unexpected landings

by litra



Category: Dinotopia - James Gurney, For the People (TV 2018)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Airplane Crashes, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dinosaurs, Dolphins, Gen, Sort of an AU, i have no idea what i'm doing anymore, or it might be pre-cannon?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-30 21:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17836580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litra/pseuds/litra
Summary: When Jay set foot on the plane the last thing he expected was for it to fall out of the sky.





	unexpected landings

**Author's Note:**

> So I started this a while back and then it got to the 5000 word mark and I realized it wasn't even close to being complete. I have no idea if there will be anything more to this story, but I think what I've got stands on its own...

"Hi, I'm Jay," he said sticking out his hand.

There was only one other person in his row on the plane. She was already settled next to the window, and flipping through the safety brochure that was in the pocket in front of her. She had neat blonde hair that curved around her face and she might have even looked nice if she hadn't been scowling.

She glanced up at him. "Kate- don't talk to me."

Jay bit his lip on his next overture of friendship and looked for a place to stow his bag in the overhead compartment. There was plenty of room for once. The plane was already small for an overseas flight it was a last-minute promotional thing, and he suspected that the airline was trying to save money on something. Add into that some mysterious volcanic activity that had made people change their flight plans and nearly one third of the seats were empty.

He glanced at the rows around them, and wondered if the flight attendant would mind him switching. He'd be fine where he was. There was a seat between him and Kate, buthe figured they would both be more comfortable if he found a spot somewhere else.

There was a couple two rows ahead of him, a white All-American guy talking quietly to a black woman with wild curly hair. They had already spread out into the seat next to them. There was a black man across the aisle wearing a suit sans tie. He was frowning at his phone, typing out in concentration. The final option was a woman a few rows behind his own seat. She looked to be about his own age, had her hair pulled up in a ponytail and was digging through her purse. There were two open seats beside her.

Jay glanced at the doorway of the plane. Technically they were still boarding but everyone was being very casual about it. He was pretty sure everyone who is getting on was on.

Licking his lips he headed down to the woman. "Hi, do you know if anyone is sitting here? It's just that the person beside me seems to want to be alone and since there are empty seats I thought…"

"What? Oh yeah I think they're empty." She blinked and held out her hand, "I'm Sandra."

He took it, "Jay, thank you." They did a quiet shuffle as she pulled in her knees and he scooted around her to sit next to the window.

They made small talk for a few minutes until a flight attendant called over the PA that they were fully boarded and the pilot was going to see if they could get in line to taxi a little bit early.

Jay woke from a light doze when turbulence dropped the plain ten feet. He didn't know when he'd dozed off but the plain was dark, the red running lights lined the aisle, and the seatbelt light was on. He glanced over at Sandra. She had her hands on the back of the seat in front of her. She met his eye and offered up an nervous smile.

"Storm apparently."

Jay nodded then snatched for the seat in front of him as the plane shuddered again. He swallowed and was suddenly glad that all he'd had were a handful of peanuts since boarding.

Someone a few rows ahead of him started praying. Another person cursed as lightning cracked right outside the windows. Jay hid his head in his arms.

"We're over the ocean, water landing, seat cushions..." He heard sandra mutter under her breath.

The safety brochure was still tucked into the seat pocket. He hadn't bothered to read it, but he knew the nearest exit was behind him. He wondered if he should read it now. The plain dropped and Jay was able to count to 3 before his ass touched the seat again. No reading was definitely out of the equation.

Over the generall mutterings and the howling of the wind outside a whistling rose.

Jay looked up in time to see steam or smoke or something from ahead of him, then the world came apart.

He was falling again, weightless. there was wind howling inside the plane. Yellow plastic things dropped from overhead. a siren was screaming and someone was saying something that the wind pulled away. He tried to look at Sandra. She had a mask in one hand bracing herself against the seat in front of her with the other. her mouth was moving but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

There was a flash of light. Jay blinked his night vision ruined only to realize a moment later that the soft lighting of the plain was gone. There was water on his face, on his hands. They dropped again, for a lot longer than three seconds. Please god, please please please, ran through his head and he wasn't even sure what he was asking for. His seat pressed up into him for a second before he lost it again. He licked his lips and tasted salt.

There was a crack, a twisted tearing sound and his seatbelt cut into his middle and his arms got fresh bruises as he braced himself on the seat in front of him. He could feel it now, like a car with no shock absorbers on the worst kind of gravel road. They had hit something and he could hear it tearing at the plain's belly.

Water, Water was bubbling up in front of him. Water in his shoes.

Sandra shoved at his shoulder, "the Exit."

Jay managed to nod, turning to the isle. They're not the only ones with that idea. The exit is only three rows behind them and The guy in front of it is already standing, working the levers. He shoved a shoulder into it, once, twice, then the door was suddenly gone, ripped away by waves and wind. The guy stumbled. There was a single crystal moment when Jay saw his face frozen in surprise before he fell through the opening, lost immediately.

A woman cried out, a wordless gasp of fear. Someone else started talking, saying "Listen if we all--" but Jay never got to hear what they all should do because something gave way at the front of the plain and the rush of water was deafening.

Jay let go of the seat, wrapping his arms around his head. He gasped in surprise and managed to hold it as cold water covered him, knocking him against the seats and the ceiling and everything else in the small compartment. There was no way he could fight a current that strong. He didn't even try.

Something scraped by his shoulder, and he was turning end over end. He didn't know which way was up. He opened his eyes, salt stinging everything, black and blue all around. What had happened to the plane? He'd been swept outside somehow. He couldn't breath, was out of air. His lungs contracted, the bubbles flowing out around his chin before he could stop them.

Bubbles, follow the bubbles.

He twisted around. His shoes and jacket felt like lead weights pulling him down. He didn't have the breath to spare to get them off. He kicked furiously, pulling himself through the water with his arms.

When he broke the surface the world went from gray and blue to blue and gray. He gasped, filling his lungs, before taking the time to shuck off his jacket, and shoes. wrapping them all into a bundle that he tied around his shoulders.

Jay was a strong swimmer, but the best swimmer in the world couldn't survive forever. He needed to think, he needed a plan. He couldn't see the plane anymore, either it had sunk or drifted out of his view. He thought there was a current, but he didn't have any reference points to tell where it might be taking him. A swell lifted him up and Jay tried to look as far as he could before dipped back into the lee of the wave. There was a dark shape pointing up at the sky. In the mist he couldn't tell how far away it was, but it was better than nothing.

 

He hadn't gone more then half a dozen strokes before he heard the cry. A woman's voice, not one he recognised.

"Here!" He called back, and her voice came across the water in answer. It came from his right. He fixed where the shape had been on his mental compass and adjusted his course. A minute or so later the cry came again. Slowly, they zeroed in on each other until Jay saw them.

It was the black woman, she was helping to support the man she'd been sitting with. He looked pale, more than he should have been given the water and temperature, which wasn't too bad now that he thought of it; lower than skin temperature but only by a few degrees. It would have been nice in other circumstances.

He lifted a hand and waved as he got closer. "Hey, you guys okay?"

"We're alive," the woman answered, "but he'd not doing too well."

The man was trying to float on his back, his arms waving back and forth, and one leg kicking feebly. The other leg was twitching, hanging below him in the water. Jay didn't see any blood but that didn't mean anything. The woman had his head on her shoulder, doing what she could.

Jay gulped in a breath and looked around. He'd spent a few summers as a teen working as a lifeguard, but the local pool was a far cry from their current situation.  
"Okay, umm. I'm Jay-" A few things had to carry over at least and keeping people calm was never a bad thing.  
"Allison, and this is Seth."  
Seth tried for a smile, but it looked pained.  
Jay nodded, "I don't know where the plane is, but I saw something over that way. We could try to get there. It looked like land." Allison turned to look where he pointed, but they were in the lee of the waves at the moment and there was nothing visible but water. "I could take him?" he offered.  
She considered, "I'm good for a little longer." She started swimming, on her back, big sweeping movements of her arms, with Seth helping where he could. Jay swam alongside, trying to keep an eye out for anyone else or that glimpse of land.  
His sense of time was terrible. It felt like they swam for hours. Occasionally they would end up at the top of a swell and Jay pushed himself as high as he could, adjusting their course and assuring the others they were getting closer. It was definitely land he could see. There were the craggy shapes of mountains with a haze of green and brown around them.They do seem to be getting noticeably closer at least. Jay thinks the currents might be helping them along.  
Seth is the first one to see the creature. He's been drifting in and out, helping where he could, which isn't much. When Jay took his turn supporting the man he saw that Seth's foot was twisted around. The bone hadn't broken the skin but the whole thing was turning dark and swollen.  
When Seth cried out Jay thought it was just the pain. He took a breath and tried to boost Seth up higher on his chest. Allison turned in their direction, then turned more sharply. She cried out, a wordless sound that echoed Seth.  
Jay stopped looking at the landmass in front of them, turning as well. He doesn't see anything.  
"What?"  
"There was something in the water. I saw a fin." Allison bit her lip, looking around.  
Jay got a sinking feeling, "Check his leg. Is it bleeding?" He has no idea what to do if it is. It's not like they could bandage it up in the water even if they had something to bandage it with. They're still too far from the shore. They've gotten Seth this far, he's not sure Allison would abandon Seth even if it didn't make his stomach twist with guilt.  
Allison nodded taking a deep breath, and vanished under the water.  
A dozen cheep horror movies and discovery channel specials echoed through Jay's mind as he held Seth as still as he could in the water and scanned the surface at the same time. He felt something move past his leg and told himself it was just Allison. Please just be Allison.

Seth hissed in a sharp breath tensing in his arms, and Jay had to gasp in his own breath as he dipped in the water. He shook his head as he came back up spitting out the taste of salt. Allison came up beside him pushing her sodden hair out of her face.

"I can't tell. I mean, it looks bad but that's mostly the swelling. If there is bleeding it's not too bad, but I'd have to take off his pants to check and –" she shrugged and offered up a lopsided smile, acknowledging the innuendo without actually making anything of it.

Jay nodded, "okay, okay well, I didn't see anything so maybe –" his words changed into a strangled cry as he saw a fin break the surface of the water. His whole body locked up. His brain was screaming at him to move but he couldn't seem to coordinate himself enough to actually do it.

Seth started muttering, "oh God, oh God, O God" under his breath. Allison, as the only unencumbered one, turned and started desperately swimming. Jay didn't blame her one bit. Seth moved, and Jay swallowed water as he went under for a moment, sputtering as he came back up.

A second fin broke the surface a little way to the right. They were moving fast, far faster than the group had been swimming. Faster than Jay could swim even if he wasn't supporting Seth.

One of the fins circled them, then dipped under the water. All he could see was a dark shape. He heard Allison cry out, twisting instinctively to see what had happened. He met the smiling black eyes of a dolphin. The animal blew out a breath, chittering as it nosed at one of Seth's trailing arms. Seth started laughing high and fragile and Jay gave into it a second later. He might have been shaking he couldn't tell. Not sharks, they would be okay. He took a breath, suddenly feeling exhausted. He focused on keeping himself and Seth on the surface.

There was a whole pod of dolphins as it turned out, seven or eight in total. They kept circling and squeaking to each other so it was hard to count. They herded Allison back to them. She was flustered and blushing and apologized, which both men waved off.

One of the dolphins got closer, nosing at Seth, pushing him up higher in the water. It helped. Jay knew they were smart, but hadn't realized they would understand. He'd thought they had to be trained, like dogs. Allison laughed as one of the dolphins nudged up against her, lifting her in the water and pushing her a few feet before diving again. They were just playing of course, but...

"Think they'd help us get to land?" Allison asked, echoing his own thoughts.

He shrugged, "I have no idea. Maybe?"

five minutes later Jay was seriously revising his estimation of Dolphin intelligence, and the intelligence of these dolphins in particular. When Allison had grabbed the dorsal fin of one of them it had immediately turned toward land and started swimming. It even kept close to the surface. When she'd let go twenty feet away, it had circled around and come back to her, chittering.

Allison had laughed and Jay let out a surprised cheer. Even Seth managed a weak smile.

"I think that's a yes."

It wasn't as simple as that of course. Jay couldn't hold on to a dolphin and support Seth at the same time.

After a minute of struggle Seth spoke up. "Let me go."

"What?" both Jay and Allison asked in shock.

"You can't support me and make it all the way to the island. Thank you for trying, but I've been paying attention, and both of you are tired. These guys can help. I may not be strong enough to swim but I'm strong enough to hold on, at least for a while."

Jay bit his lip. Seth was right. He had purposefully not been thinking about it because there was nothing else to do, but his stamina was wearing down fast. He released his hold, and let Seth slide off his chest. Seth took a deep breath, and clenched his jaw as he started moving on his own. He rolled from his back onto his front. When the first dolphin nosed up to him, he didn't hesitate to grab for it. Another dolphin came up to help and the three of them turned towards the island, swimming a bit slower then Allison's dolphin had minutes before.

Jay took a breath, and started swimming after them. When another of the dolphins got close, he grabbed onto it's back fin and let it tow him forward.

 

It was harder than it looked, and soon there was a straining pain in his arms and shoulders, but it was worth it. The land grew visibly closer until the dolphins circled a shelf of rock and slowed to a stop in a sheltered cove. It was amazing, a true tropical paradise and if JAy hadn't been so exhausted he might have been able to appreciate it more. The sand stretched up to a line of trees that weren't really palm trees but weren't anything else either. there were large ferns and he could see something like mangroves down the coast.

More importantly he could see people.

Jay let go if his dolphin, and stiffly swam for the shore. A few of the people had noticed him and met him, Allison and Seth in the shallows.

"Oh my God, Jay!" Sandra cried out, helping him to his feet. "You're alive!"

"So are you," Jay said with a little smile. She looked good, or at least as good as could be expected. She was barefoot, and had her sleeves and the legs of her pants rolled up. Her hair was pushed back, drying under a layer of salt. She looked tired, but unhurt.

Jay glanced at the others who had come to help them. The tall black man from the plane introduced himself as Leonard, and Kate waved from the shelter of the trees. His heart sank. It was good to know he, Allison, and Seth weren't the only survivors, but a part of him had hoped that the people were natives. It would have meant they were one step closer to civilization. one step closer to help for Seth, and warm beds, and calling his parents. One step closer to this whole thing being a story he told and not something he was experiencing.

Jay tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting the morning sun wash over him, and start the process of drying his clothes. He heard Seth let out a short cry as Allison helped him up. Jay opened his eyes, but Leonard and Sandra were already moving to help. As a group they moved up the beach to where Kate was sitting with her arm in a sling.

"You okay?" Jay asked.

"It was just dislocated, I'll be fine." She frowned at Seth. "What about him?"

"His leg's hurt pretty bad. Internal bleeding. I don't know"

She nodded, accepting the information.

Jay hesitated, remembering Kate's initial brush off on the plane, but he had to ask-- "Do you know where we are? Have you seen anyone else?"

She glanced up, then shook her head. "We haven't been here more than an hour. There's been no sign of anyone else. Sandra and Leonard have been arguing the merits of exploring vs. building some sort of signal."

Jay nodded. Alone on a tropical island. This was either the start to a bad joke or a cheap thriller novel. "So, are you thinking Lost, or the Island of Dr. Moreau?" His voice came out a little higher than normal. Clearly having time to think wasn't always a good thing.

"If you are trying to comfort me with humor, then I can assure you it is unnecessary," Kate responded. "I am as comfortable as can be expected."

"...right..." Jay twisted his hands together. His jacket was dripping sea water down his back so he untied it and hung it up on a low branch, his shoes beside it.

"Hey," Sandra marched over. While he'd been talking with Kate, she and Leonard had helped get Seth up the beach and settled against the next tree over. "I'm taking a vote. Explore down the coast for help or wait here until something worse happens to us."

Leonard towered behind her, scowling, his arms crossed, "everyone knows you're supposed to stay put if you get lost, and besides it's not like we can just walk down the beach with two injured people."

Sandra turned around and stuck a finger in Leonards chest, "If we don't find water, or better yet, help, none of us will survive until help gets here."

"What about both?" Jay asked. They turned scowling at him. "I mean, Seth can't move and Kate probably shouldn't. And I don't think anyone should go off alone but there are more of us now? Sandra and I could look around and bring back help if we find it?" Sandra and Leonard turned their glairs back to each other, but in the end they nodded.

Jay would have liked more time to rest but he had volunteered to go with Sandra so he grabbed his shoes, looped them by the laces around his neck and followed.

Sandra stayed close to the tree line where the ground was firm. she marched for the first hundred yards or so. Then Jay saw her shoulders slump and she visibly too a breath. It gave him a chance to catch up with her.

"I'm really glad you made it out," He said.

"Yeah. Sam. This is all just so... Did you ever imagine this kind of thing happening? Like just what if you got stuck in an elevator or in a bank robbery or on an island, and how you'd deal with it? I'm a law student and I've had a lot of long night and sometimes..."

Jay laughed, "Yeah I hear you. My dad runs this laundromat, and I help out a lot. There's a lot of loud machines so you can't talk, and my mind always ends up wandering."

Sandra nodded and waved at the landscape around them. "This though, you never think it will actually happen."

Jay looked around. The white sand, the sun breaking through patchy clouds, the strange curling furns. It was a paradise and like Sandra was saying, or wasn't saying, it felt impossible.

"I know what you mean. It's always like that what if... but it's the same as superheroes or time travel."

The wind picked up, blowing a streamer of mist over the beach. For a few minutes they were walking through a cloud, visibility so bad that Sandra was only a shape beside him. Horror movies of monsters in the mist swept through his mind. Jay reached out, and caught Sandra's elbow, his hand sliding down to catch hers. He felt it through his feet first, the ground changing from rough sand to pebbles. He looked down, focusing on his footing as the wind picked up again, brushing the mist away as quickly as it had come.

Sandra gasped, and squeezed his hand.

Jay looked up, following the line of her gaze. There was a rough cut step of stone set back between the trees, and on the platform was a stature. Jay shook his head, blinking to refocus, and confirm what he was seeing. The base was similar enough to plenty of other statues; a man sitting on a backless chair, posture straight, staring out at the sea. That was where the similarities to traditional art ended. The figures head wasn't human, instead it had three horns, one on the long snout and one above each eye, and a frill standing up behind it. It's hands and feet weren't human either. They had two almost-fingers and something like a thumb. The figure wore clothing that might once have been loosely draped around it's person, but time and the weather had worn it down to a shapeless mass. The stature was as tall as the trees, about 40 feet on top of the five foot base.

"Oh Wow," Sandra said. She let go of his hand running forward to get a look at it straight on.

Jay followed a bit slower, "You're not getting a Lost vibe from this?"

"What? Oh I never watched that show." Sandra brushed him off, squinting up at the stature then at the area around them. "Look there's another one over there. I bet we could see the whole area from up there. Come on!" Again Sandra rushed forward, clambering up onto the statue's base.

She was right. There was a second matching statue on the other side of a pile of rocks. Jay paused long enough to shove his mostly dry shoes on, before scrambling up after her.

"Hey wait, Sandra, we should stick together." By the time he'd levered himself up onto the base of the statue, Sandra had scrambled over onto the rocks.

"There's a river," She called back to him pointing down. He could hear it now, the constant low rush of water even over the rolling waves.

Well that was one problem solved at least. Fresh water was always one of the things they had to find in all the books and movies. He circled the statue, looking around. What else did people normally look for, shelter? Were they going to have to build a jungle paradise treehouse or something? He was not a carpenter, that was not part of his skillset.

Something caught his eye and Jay turned peering around the statue. It wasn't just a river or at least not a small one. There was a large shallow pool where the water collected before flowing through the channel. There were a bunch of mangroves along the shore, but that wasn't what he'd seen.

There was something in the water.

Was it a crocodile, an alligator? Honestly Jay didn't know the difference. There was something there, green and speckled, light brown. He caught it moving, and drifted closser. It made a difference. He didn't want to camp out here if there were alligators or whatever in the water. A stream was one thing, but that was something else. He glanced over at Sandra. She had a hand shading her eyes, squinting along the stream. It didn't look like she was going anywhere, and it wasn't like he was going out of sight. With one hand on the base of the statue he stepped closer to the water, peering down at the surface, looking for the shape that had first caught his eye.

There it was, a ripple, water sluicing off the creatures back as it lifted it's head. Jay let out a cry as the size of it double and tripled. It wasn't some alligator, it was the size of a bus. An alligator was nothing compared to this. It was so big his mind could only parse it in pieces. the green-brown skin was mottled and flexible, more like a gecko than an alligator. It's head had a duck-like bill with some kind of horn coming off the back. It's forelegs were webbed and smaller, making it's back half seem out of proportion.

It turned in his direction at his cry, and it's head tilted to the side.

Jay frose on the spot, praying that for once Jurassic park had gotten it right. This thing didn't look like it was a predator, but neither were hippos and he'd seen the statistics of how many people they killed every year. Something that big-- it could squish him without even trying.

There was a short cry from off to one side and Jay moved his eyes enough to see Sandra clamp her hands over her mouth. She was staring at the thing too. No not thing, Dinosaur. Forget Lost, they were in The Land That Time Forgot.

The dinosaur looked between the two of them, letting out a deep rolling series of sounds. Was it threatening them? It didn't sound like it was threatening them. With the size difference it really shouldn't see them as a threat. Was it calling for friends? God Jay really didn't want to face a whole herd of these things, one was enough. Oh god, was it protecting some young or something? Jay couldn't tell if it was male or female. Maybe it was protecting a nest.

Jay glanced around looking for little dinosaurs or eggs or something. The last thing he wanted to do now was move in the wrong direction. Then the dinosaur rumbled again and Jay's attention zeroed right back in. The dinosaur came forward into the shallow, shaking the water off it's forelimbs. It grunted, clearly directing the sentiment toward the two of them. Jay had the sudden realization that he had no idea how smart... whatever this dinosaur is, is supposed to be. He was already wrong about the dolphins, he's not going to make any judgement calls now.

Apparently the dinosaur was intelligent enough to get impatient because it reared back onto its hind legs, and looked away down the beach. Jay was hit all over again by how big it was. Then he ducked down, covering his ears as the dinosaur let out a trumpeting call that echoed over the water. As big as it was it was three times as loud.

Jay waited for more dinosaurs to come out of the water or trees. He waited for the one in front of him to charge. Neither event happened. The dinosaur settled down with it's legs tucked under it in a strangely catlike pose. It was cleary watching the two of them, but it didn't seem like it was going to do anything else. Not that sitting would be much of a hindrance if it needed to chase them or something.

Sandra touched his arm, and Jay went tense before letting out a breath as silently as he was able. "Is that?"

"Yeah. Real live dinosaur."

She looked at him and let out a little laugh. It was too high pitched, shaky. "The others aren't going to believe this."

Jay nodded and let out a little laugh of his own, "Hey mom can we keep him? Oh god maybe they've found dinosaurs of their own. What if we go back and they've all been eaten?"

Sandra squeezed his arm, "Don't borrow trouble. We've got enough of our own already."

"You've got a point. What should we do? I mean, try to leave or, wait for it to get bored or...?"

She shrugged, "It doesn't look like it's going anywhere, and I'm worried about what that call might have attracted."

"Yeah, same."

She licked her lips, "Okay how about this. We slowly circle the statue until it's out of sight. Out of sight out of mind."

He nodded slowly, "And if it follows us?"

"I don't know? Maybe try for the trees?"

It's not the best plan, but Jay can't think of anything better. He nodded. Sandra glanced back at the dinosaur then deliberately away, taking the lead. Jay kept his eyes on the creature, it's enormous black eyes following them. Five feet, ten... They turned the corner. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

The low rumble from the dinosaur as it circled the statue and settled back down into its former posture, this time on the sand of the beach, made them both tense right back up.

"Okay," Sandra said taking a breath, "Okay. New plan. We, umm, we..." She looked around. Her hand was still tightly wrapped in his and he squeezed, trying to send her comfort.

"We wait."

"What?"

Jay looked from the dinosaur to her and back. "It's not trying to get any closer, or attack or anything. So, I was thinking; those dolphins were really smart."

"Right yeah I saw how they brought you in."

Jay nodded, "They knew Seth was injured and which way we needed to go. Then there's the statue. Something has to have made it intentionally. I don't think this guy has the, well the dexterity let's say, but something out here is smart enough to put it together."

Sandra nodded, brushing her hair back behind her ear, "So you think there are humans here or something?"

"Or something..." Jay nodded. "I mean, we'll know soon enough, right?" He gestured towards his ear and then out around them.

Sandra let out another breath, "Okay," She said again, "We'll wait." Putting her back against the stature she let herself slide down until she was crouched. Jay sat down next to her. The dinosaur seemed content with that or at least didn't move to do anything.

As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long. About fifteen minutes later according to Jay's internal clock there was a not-quite horn call from down the beach in the direction they'd been heading. Their dinosaur watcher stood up on its hind legs again and answered with a call of it's own. Jay flinched putting his hands over his ears too late to do any good.

The new dinosaurs looked similar to their watcher. There were two of them, both the same bread, but slightly bigger. One was slightly browner while the other had more pronounced spots along it's spine. but what really caught Jay's eye were the harnesses tied around their upper bodies. There were green and blue banners hanging from the horn on the back of their head and braided strands of some kind of cloth over their forelimbs.

Then from behind them came a smaller dinosaur, one of the ones that looked like a supersized ostrich. It also had green sashes falling from it's head, but instead of letting them fly free like flags, they looped back to a saddle strapped to it's back. A man in the same green as the dinosaurs held the reins with one hand as he waved with the other.

Jay's mind tried to fit what he was seeing into his mental image of Jurassic Park, and failed. For one thing, nothing had tried to eat him yet, for another the dinosaurs were clearly using their deep rumbling horn calls to talk to each other. Their watcher rumbled something and guestured at him and Sandra. The new dinosaurs rumbled back, ending in a higher note that was definitely a question.

"Hola," the dinosaur rider said, swinging off his mount and down a knotted rope to the ground. His dinosaur might have been smaller than the other three but it was still at least fifteen feet tall at the shoulder.

"That's spanish. Do you speak spanish? I don't speak spanish." Sandra started babbling, tugging on his arm.

"Nope, only english, well, and a little Hebrew, but I'm really rusty," Jay answered, not taking his eyes from the man walking towards them.

"Ah, english good. Nice to meet you."

"Oh thank god," Sandra said in a rush finally letting go of his arm and stepping forward. "I'm Sandra you would not believe how good it is to see another human right now."

"I'm Jay, and yeah, what she said." Jay offered, waving.

The man's head fell to one side, looking between them, "My name is Marcus, but you may call me Mark. My partner is Severin." He gestured to the dinosaur he'd rode in on, and Jay's mind made a little giddy sound. "I'm afraid I do not understand your meaning."

Jay blinked at Mark, "Um human? As in not a dinosaur? We thought this island was deserted. Our plane went down. We've got injured friends back that way, Me and Sandra went to see if we could find help." Jay swallowed before he started babbling in earnest.

The dinosaur who had been watching then rumbled something in their direction. Mark turned to it, then spoke, "Rivertail would like to ask how long ago you crashed."

"You mean that's really a language?" Sandra asked. Her head was whipping back and forth as if she didn't know who to focus on, the dinosaur speaking or the human translator.

"Yes, the Saurians have their own language. It's not so hard to learn. Most of them understand at least one human language as well, but they don't have the mouths so speak it."

Sandra nodded, biting her lip. Jay couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he could see the little hamster running furiously. His own brain hamster was still trying to figure out the new normal where Dinosaurs were real and had their own language.

"Umm, well, to answer the question, it was a few hours ago. There are six of us, or there were six when we left. Two injured. The dolphins helped us get to shore. I'm not sure if anyone else survived."

Mark was nodding solemnly, "This is enormous news. We haven't had newcomers to the island in some time, and normally it's only one or two." He ran a hand through his hair then turned to one of the dinosaurs. "We'll need to get them back to the port." The dinosaur rumbled back guesturing back the way they'd come. Mark nodded. "Yes, I think that would be best."

Jay looked to Mark for a translation.

"Vose will go back to the port to fetch help. I will need one of you to show me to your friends so I can set up a banner for them. The other may go with Vose, Rivertail and Friiz if you'd like."

Jay hesitated, glancing at Sandra, "Ah, no offence but I'd rather not wander off with a stranger," or a strange creature who he couldn't understand, even if they were intelligent, he carefully omitted.

"Same, sorry, if you don't mind that is." Sandra quickly added.

Mark shrugged, "If you prefer. If it's not far Severin can carry three."

Jay's mind stuttered to a stop again as Sandra made a high pitch noise and bounced on the spot.

"Really? We can ride him? I mean, you'll let us ride you?" She said the latter to the dinosaur.

Severin gave her a look that even Jay could read as "Oh you are so cute," and nodded clearly. Sandra took two quick steps forward then forced herself to slow down and walk at a regular pace until she could reach out and touch it's smooth hide. It watched her without moving away. Behind Severin the other dinosaurs spoke among themselves. it was actually easy to tune them out despite the volume of their voices. One of them called out to MArk, who waved them off and turned his attention back to his partner and Sandra.

"He's a big softy really," Mark commented.

Severin said something in a slightly higher series of grunts then the other dinosaurs. Mark laughed in response, hooking his thumbs into his belt and wandering over to stand next to Sandra. Jay reluctantly followed.

Mark showed them how to mount up. from that distance it was obvious that the saddle was made for two people. it looked almost like a motorcycle's seat except for the creature it was sitting on. Sandra eagerly climbed the looped rope ladder while Jay was still getting used to the feel of the leathery skin. Mark mounted up behind her leaving Jay to climb up behind Mark. Jay looked down the beach where the others where already a good distance away, then down the other direction towards where he knew Allison, Seth and the others were waiting. He took a breath, steeling himself, and stuck his foot into the bottom loop of the ladder.

Jay had never ridden a horse before. He'd grown up in the city and it had never interested him. As he rode a giant prehistoric lizard down a tropical beach he wished he had, if only to have something to compare it to. Severin's gait was surprisingly smooth, rolling rather then bumpy. The whole perspective felt off, too high off the ground and moving at a strangely fast speed. Jay kept his eyes on the distance as a precaution against vertigo and nausea, his arms tight around Mark's weist. Sandra seemed to have no such trouble. Her head twisted in every direction, asking questions about dinosaurs and the city and a hundred other things. Jay realized he probably should have been paying attention, but when every time he tried his brain slid sideways telling him none of this could possibly be happening. It was too crazy. It was science fiction. Maybe Lost had it right after all and he'd died in the crash...

Jay heard Sandra shout a greeting and wave when they got closer. He considered leaning over to see the other's reactions, but decided not to risk it. Mark said something in what Jay guessed was the dinosaur language, and Severin slowed to a stop.

"You have got to be kidding me," Leonard said, slowly walking over. Jay could see the others now, Kate was still sitting under the trees, she didn't have her mouth hanging open, but her eyes were wide. Allison was whispering to Seth who was had his head in her lap. He didn't look any better.

Mark elbowed Jay, looking over his shoulder. Jay blinked, drawing his attention back in. "What?"

"You have to climb down first."

Jay nodded slowly. He glanced down then quickly back up to the horizon. It wasn't that high, it was just, well, it was higher than it should have been, higher then he'd expected. Mark was still looking at him over his shoulder. Jay nodded, It was mostly bravado and he was pretty sure everyone knew it. It was just a ladder, he could climb down a ladder.

He looped his foot into the first loop and without letting go of Mark, swung his leg over behind him. There was a moment when he was sure he was going to fall over backwards. He overcompensated, and ended up hanging over the saddle on his belly with one foot twisted in the ropes and the other hanging free.

"I'm okay, I've got it, just a second," He said, trying not to look straight down the dinosaur's side all the way down to the sand. Mark grabbed his belt loops and helped him untangle his foot enough to get the other into the next loop down. From there he was able to make his slow steady way to the ground. When his feet touched the earth he staggered back, bending over, his hands on his knees. He took a few deep breaths. There was no way he was going to do that again, not any time soon. It looked cool from the outside but it had been crossed off the bucket list and he didn't need a repeat.

Mark dismounted next. Sandra slid down easilly smiling as Mark helped her down the last few feet. The two of them turned to the others and started answering questions. Jay took the time to get his breath back and his legs working again. The dinosaur looked down at him and rumbled something. Jay waved it (him?) off.

"I'm fine, just a lot to take in."

Severin nodded.

Jay realized he was talking to a dinosaur. He slowly sank onto the sand and looked out over the water. There was a line of clouds on the horizon but otherwise the sky was clear. This time yesterday he had been checking to make sure he hadn't forgotten to pack anything and hugging his parents goodbye. They'd all been prepared for his six month absence as part of the peace corps, but this...

Did they know about the plane yet? Were people still looking for survivors? Somehow he didn't think that they'd be found even if people were still looking. That meant that they'd be declared dead. His family would hold a funeral for him, without ever knowing he was still alive. He'd never go home, never see them again, never pet Mittens the family cat again. Never go down to the corner store for a milk run. Never watch those shows he'd saved, never cash in the punch card for the coffee shop by his work. He'd been prepared to be gone for months but not forever.

Jay buried his hands in the loose sand breathing harshly. His pulse was racing, and the blue in front of him had blurred together sea and sky, as tears got caught in his throat. He couldn't do it. He wasn't that kind of person. He couldn't just let go of everything he'd ever known and walk into a strange and dangerous new land. He could see Sandra's excitement, and Kate's focused calculation. Allison and Seth had each other. Even Leonard seemed to be more angry or frustrated than anything else. He was the weak one. He was the only one falling apart, shaking himself into a cold sweat on what might as well be a prehistoric beach.

He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to learn Saurian or whatever else Mark said he'd need to do. He wanted to go home, or failing that, he wanted to curl up in his bed and pull the blanket in after him.

The touch on his shoulder was firm, shaking him slightly until he looked up in a daze. Kate was standing over him, frowning. "You weren't responding, are you alright?"

Jay rubbed his face on his arm, the salt still crusting his skin, stinging his eyes. He couldn't answer, his voice wouldn't respond.

"You're shaking." Kate was still frowning, but she carefully lowered herself to sit beside him.

"There's no going home from this." He finally managed to croak out.

She turned and looked out at the ocean, "No, there isn't."

He hadn't expected that. He'd expected for her to offer condolences, or some optimistic platitudes, but not this flat agreement. Then again it did fit with what he knew of her. 

"Do you-- Did you have anyone?" He had to catch himself, correct himself. It hurt.

"Yes."

"Who?"

She was staring out at the waves like he had, but she didn't look like she was getting lost in them. She looked like she was counting every one, all the gallons between her and whoever she wouldn't see again.

"My girlfriend. She's in the military. I was going to visit her. We were planning to meet up for our three year anniversary."

"I'm sorry." The words slipped out before Jay could sensor them, or even figure out what he was really saying. 

She nodded. "Mark said there's no way off the island, but I'm not so sure. Just because no one has ever done it doesn't mean it can't be done." Kate's tone was level, almost unemotional. 

Jay had to blink at her a few times before he realized the implications. Kate was going to try to get home. He had no idea if she could do it, or if she'd give up in a few days or weeks, but she was going to try. His heart was thundering as he glanced back over his shoulder. Mark and the dinosaur weren't watching them. They seemed to be thoroughly distracted by Leonard and Sandra's questions.

Jay leaned in and whispered, "Whatever you're idea, I'll help."

She turned frowning at him, "Why are you whispering?"

"I-- I don't know? It seemed like the thing to do? I mean they're not going to want us to leave... Right?"

"Probably not, but I'm not going to let them lock me up for trying either."

"Right. Same for me. I'll help," Jay nodded.

"You said that already."

Jay opened his mouth, then shut it before he could repeat himself for a third time or apologise or something. That would probably just make KAte angry.

Kate pushed herself to her feet, and brushed the sand off her pants. "Right, if you're going to help me then the first thing to do is gather as much information as we can."

Jay scrambled to follow her. He felt better with a goal, the start of a plan, and... an ally. He wasn't sure if Kate would call him a friend or an acquaintance or what, but he was going to trust her. They were going to find a way home.

 


End file.
